K-12 performance tasks in 

After looking at maps, students make different-sized concentric circles, from smallest circle to biggest circle for their where they live, their city/town, state, country, and world, respectively. Students select a place in their community that is special to them and draw a picture of their special place. Students then present and teacher video records their street name and address of where they live and their special place - what it is, where it is located in relation to their home or school, and why the place they chose is important to them.

Students take on the role of a party planner. Students choose the type of party they would like to have, as well as how many people they would like to invite. They need to make sure there is enough food and drinks for every guest at the party. They create a plan for shopping, set-up of the party, and the entertainment. They need to recognize that a "fancier" party will cost more and they will need to adjust their number of guests to stay on budget.

Students create a unique pumpkin and share out in writing what makes their pumpkin special.

Students use what they know about forces and magnets to design a model solution to a problem. Several sample problems are offered including: design a fuel efficient transit system or way to clean up ocean garbage patches. However, students and teachers can also come up with their own local problems and solutions, like how to keep a door closed or open or how to move materials across a classroom space using magnets. Or they could design solutions to community problems such as removing trash from a local stream or body of water. After designing, creating, testing and redesigning their models, students advocate for their adoption.

Students begin by listening to a read aloud of the story "Sneezy the Snowman". The story discusses several different situations in which the character (a snowman) melts because of a change in temperature. Students then engage in a turn and talk and create a way they would melt a snowman. After, they write a sentence that finishes the prompt "My snowman melted because…". The students then cut up white construction paper to show their melted snowman. They are encouraged to cut the shapes however they would like to encourage creativity. They present the finished product to their peers.

Students demonstrate that 2D shapes can be used to make new 2D shapes. Students then make a text-to-self connection involving the book Mouse Views and their school. Students write about what they find in their text.

ELA: Students are introduced to the idea of made-up creatures as an idea about which to write. It allows students to explore made-up words, creatures, and situations that can lead to the development of interesting narrative stories and/or poetry. Students act as budding authors by generating fantasy creatures about which to write a story or poem. The audience will be teachers, parents, and classmates, as this piece of writing will be published in a class book. Art: Students work to create a illustration for their writing.

Students learn about different types of emotions through various videos and activities. Students pick an emotion and create a pumpkin on paper that expresses their chosen emotion. Once completed, students then think of a time they felt that emotion and write it down underneath their pumpkin (by themselves or with teacher assistance).

Students take on the role of a cartographer and create a map of a familiar location based on their prior knowledge of camping and/or stories read about a location. Students show mastery of the components of a map, including a title, compass rose, map symbols, and key.

Students collect data through a survey about desired recess toys, create graphs to display the information, and write about the data. As an extension, students can share their graphs and data with school administration.